Piano World Home Page Forums Fun Stuff! - Parties, Tours, Projects & More... Forum Members Parties, Tours, Cruises, & Meetings new york city in october

Linda,

I apologize for any confusion I might have caused in trying to schedule with any of the dealers. RealPlayer confirmed in this thread that he was able to schedule two of the dealers. Since I did not see confirmations from anyone else in this thread who may have contacted dealers, I offered to contact Klavierhaus and Beethoven.

I was not trying to step on your toes, or complicate things by contacting KH myself. There are so many posts in this thread that I forgot you said you were seeing them on Sat. It was simply an honest mistake.

Wow, this is exciting!!

Just an FYI, don't count my opinion on the concert, because I don't think I will be able to go...my schedule is always last-minute, so if something comes up and I can't make it, I don't want to be stuck with an extra ticket!

So, to Linda in PA and Phlebas:

Has one of you called Klavierhaus to reconfirm the time Phlebas originally scheduled -- about 4 PM? (This being because A&C has to see us at 1 PM, as they usually close at 2 on Saturdays)?

I'd offer to call K-haus myself, except I'm away from NYC till Thursday, and it gets even more confusing if a third person calls -- too many cooks, you know.

Thanks,

Joe and Linda.
I have a call in to them, and am waiting for a call back.

Hi, Phlebas and Joe:

Sorry for being in such a snit, yesterday. I'll join Joe in staying out of the "soup" and allow Phlebas to do the "cooking" moving forward. Hope everone else will follow.

Phlebas, it's not my toes that I'm concerned about (and you didn't really step on them) - I know that some other PW revelers (in addition to us) contacted various staff at Klavierhaus regarding our visit. While I appreciate the enthusiasm, it gets messy and exasperating for the dealer.

Many thanks for clearing up the confusion. Looking forward to the gathering!

. . . Linda

How about Chez josephine's is on W. 42 St near 9 AVE.? Anyone know about this place? Supposedly has a pianist performing during the evening. Might be overkill don't know.

We are confirmed at Klavier Haus for 4-4:30 to 5:30 on the 18th. Gabor Reisinger got back to me today to confirm the time.

Thanks!

We'd need a reservation no doubt since that's in the heart of the theatre district. Also, did you know that some of the restaurants in and around Times Square are now adding gratuity to the check!? It's an outrage.

One of the owners of the company I work for suggested Bangkok Cuisine on 55th St. and 8th Ave.

Bottom line for me: I'll go where everyone else wants to go. I've heard pique's suggestion, David's suggestion and my boss's -- they all sound fine to me.

Thank, Phlebas, for confirming the Klavierhaus time.

I'll go along with others' suggestions for eating places. I'm a vegetarian, but most restaurants in Manhattan offer some veggie dish or other, so no problem unless you all decide on a steakhouse!

I think I've been to the Thai place Bernard suggested. It's good and not expensive, IIRC. Still open to all other ideas; I'll rely on other folks' experiences with restaurants.

Since our first piano stop is at A&C at 1 PM, and that's closer to 9th Ave. at about 53rd, does anyone want to meet in that ethnic restaurant area for lunch? Or would that be overkill, since we're already doing dinner? Maybe it could be optional...just an idea.

Joe

hi, everyone! i'm home for just one night, then taking off again midday tomorrow.

it is great to see how everything is taking shape!

bernard, i've also been to that thai restaurant. i don't remember a lot about it, but that it was as good or better than most thai restaurants i've been to in nyc, which are generally excellent. of course, i was probably last there about 13 years ago....

i'll be happy with whatever we decide for a restaurant, as long as the food is good and it isn't a tourist trap or too spendy. i do think it should either be close to piano row, or close to the concert, if we are going to one.

phlebas, i mentioned earlier an indian restaurant that is in an apartment building on columbus circle. do you know the one i mean? oh, well.... i have no idea the name of it any more.

rich, i would try getting a room through priceline.com. you can specify, for example, that you want a four-star hotel for $50/night and they may find it for you! i got a $200/night room for that much using them once. hoteliers would rather sell the rooms cheap than let them sit empty....

there is a nice hotel right on piano row, but i'm not sure of their rates. it's an apartment hotel. i can't find the brochure that i saved. maybe if you called one of the piano shops they could tell you the name of it? if i remember right, it is almost right across the street from beethoven's.

i'm thrilled you are going to be joining us!

Welcome back!

I am not familiar with this restaurant. There is so much construction going on in Columbus Circle, that I wonder if it is still around.

One thing I would suggest though is we should get a count of people who want to see Beaux Art Trio, and who want to go to dinner because we should think about getting tickets.
I take it you are a firm "yes" for the concert.

hi, phlebas!

the indian restaurant was on the top floor or a very high floor of this building. you took an elevator to it. it had big windows looking out over columbus circle and central park. it was a find. i guess i'll have to investigate when i'm there and see if my nose can find it again.

as i posted before i left, if the majority are going to the beaux arts trio, i am in need of a ticket. however, if most people decide they would rather hang out and not have a curtain deadline over their heads, then i'd prefer to hang out with them.

i won't be away so long this time. i will be home sunday night at the latest, so hopefully we can make a decision by monday and make a reservation and get some tickets before it is too late.

My gosh, ancient memories resurfacing: I recall having been to a wonderful Indian restaurant on an upper floor on Central Park So. with a view of the park. Its name was "Nirvana." Could it be it's still there? Could it be what you're thinking of? The food was memorable.

This must have been at least 15-20 years ago though, when I was there.

yes!! yes!! that's it!! nirvana was the restaurant!! it was really special. if everyone coming likes indian food, we should consider going there, if it still exists.

anyone have a manhattan business phone directory on hand and could see if it is still around? even if we don't go there as a group, i will certainly go there at some point during my new york visit if it is still there.

try menupages.com

pretty comprehensive listing for manhattan

Pique et al.:

I just phoned Nirvana (it's still there) and was told that, unfortunately, they are undergoing major reconstruction now, and won't re-open until December 9.

There's another restaurant called Nirvana listed as being downtown on W. 4th Street/6 Ave., but that won't help us up on Piano Row -- and I don't know if it's the same management (their number was hooked up to a fax machine).

Back to the drawing board...

I've never had a gratuity charge added to a restaurant bill in Manhattan, even in the Theater District. Maybe I travel in the wrong circles. Anyway, I think that Chez Josephine would provide an enticing atmosphere. I called the restaurant and was told that they leave the gratuity up to their customers, even with large parties.

It only happened to me once (which is enough), but upon complaining about it at work was told that more restaurants were doing it because of the foreign tourists not understanding. (?) Anyway, the better places probably do not do it.

What's the menu like at Chez Josephine's? Does anyone know?

Hi, Bernard,


I decided to put my present bout of insomnia to good use and visit Piano World. Chez Josephine is run by Josephine Baker's adopted son, Jean-Claude. Checking Zagat's I read that the ambience is "charming" and "right out of La Cage Aux Folles" with the food being "just as good." Probably not everyone's cup of tea. I was just reviving David's suggestion. Since we'll probably be a fairly large group, I was thinking that it would be good to come up with a list of possibilities. Given my druthers, I would be resplendently happy taking a 10-minute ride on the subway from Piano Row down to Raoul's in "old" SOHO, where the food and atmosphere are both wonderful and not at all stuffy, but that's just me.